Speaker: Lukus Counterman - There are no easy answers to be found in Habakkuk. He treats issues that are profound and complex, requiring serious prayer, thoughtful reflection, and persistent faith. The outer world with its evil conduct and wicked affairs remained the same; Habakkuk’s circumstances didn’t change. But the prophet turned to praise the Lord because he had heard God’s voice. He knew the ultimate outcome of history and was determined to rejoice in the saving power and strength of God. In the end God may not change your circumstances, but he can change you to meet the circumstances. Even in the face of relentless pain, you can be resolved to praise God.

Speaker: Lukus Counterman - It seems at last the struggles of Habakkuk have come to some resolution. God has revealed his plan for just judgement and told the prophet to watch and wait. In the end, injustice, evil, Pain in the pollution of society would be stopped by the Lord who is sovereignly into groundIn his holy temple (2:20). Habakkuk has no more questions, no further need to plead his cause, he has no case to make, or compliant to voice. He has learned to keep silent before the Lord whose glory will cover the earth (2:14). The prophet has been hushed, and turns to the Lord with a prayer of praise and worship. It is as though faith has truly triumphed in Habakkuk's perplexing situation. He has embraced the perspective of heaven and has submitted to the Lord's timing and means of intervention. All Habakkuk can do at this juncture is accept the just and merciful dealings of the Lord and cast himself upon God's care. May the Lord teach us to do the same in the midst of our trials and perplexities.

Speaker: Lukus Counterman - One of the five rallying cries of the Protestant Reformation was the statement that we are saved by faith alone – sola fide! These words declared that salvation does not come from looking at our own works of righteousness, but from looking outside ourselves to another, to the person and work of Jesus Christ. The Bible is very clear that our own works do not merit salvation or eternal life (Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:9; Rom. 3:10). This means that no matter how good we are, we can never measure up to God’s standard (Rom. 3:23; Matt. 19:17; Isaiah 64:6). Our salvation depends solely and wholly upon Jesus as our substitute (2Cor. 5:21), and Savior from sin (John 1:29). Faith is the instrument or vessel that joins us to Christ and unites us to his righteousness. This treasured text in (Habakkuk 2:4) is a foundational stone for the biblical doctrine of justification by faith. Some say that the famous phrase is the key to the whole book, and perhaps the central theme of Scripture at large. God tells the prophet that “The righteous shall live by his faith.”

Speaker: Lukus Counterman - The judgment that the Lord was going to bring upon Judah was somewhat surprising to Habakkuk because it was going to be meted out through the evil, idolatrous Babylonians (1:6). This unjust, brutal nation was going to judge God’s people. But how could this happen, and how long would God allow “the wicked to swallow up the man more righteous than he” (1:13)? That was Habakkuk’s concern. It’s not that he believed Judah was blameless, he just couldn’t understand how an even worse nation could be God’s tool of judgement, and then seemingly just go about their wickedness without divine intervention. What the prophet had to understand is that God’s unconventional means don’t compromise his goodness. Rather, God’s means should engender faith. In Habakkuk 2, God made it clear that he would judge the Babylonians and ultimately he would deliver his people. In other words, God was telling Habakkuk, “Don’t worry about the Babylonians. They will get their just deserves too. Just live by faith and trust my timing and plan.” The Babylonians were going to be a tool in God’s hand, but they would be judged for their sin and wickedness in the end. Through a series of “woe” statements, God indicated the basis for his future judgment of the Chaldeans. When it comes to God’s justice, his judgment is certain. So, if you are suffering you need to wait for God’s judgment (2:3), if you’re sinning, you need run from God’s judgment (2:2) by running with his warning to his Son who was judged for you. Either way, trust God because his work is sure.

Speaker: Lukus Counterman - C.S. Lewis famously wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” In Habakkuk 1:5-11 God used his megaphone to talk to the prophet and his people. Great pain and suffering were going to come to Judah in the form of a Babylonian invasion. And through it God would rouse the deaf world. Now, Habakkuk couldn’t understand God’s timing or means, he couldn’t see God’s expansive work beyond his own people, but the prophet had to learn to accept God’s work and word. Habakkuk had to come to the realization that God could bring salvation even through judgment. So in our pain and suffering, may the Lord help us to trust his purpose and plan. May he open our eyes and dig out our ears so that we will stand in wonder and astonishment at his ways.

Speaker: Lukus Counterman - There are seasons and circumstances where our knowledge of God and our evaluation of life don’t correlate. Perhaps the wicked seem to be flourishing, or maybe the righteous are oppressed. Perhaps violence and wickedness abound and yet God seems distant and silent. Have you ever struggled with a disturbing situation and wondered about God’s timing or tolerance? Have you ever asked “how long” or “why” in the midst of difficulty? One thing a maturing Christian should understand is that God’s ways are not our ways, and thus we must always be humble in how we think about God’s work in our lives. Thinking we have God “figured out” can be a real barrier to walking humbly with him. The fact is, we have to learn to trust God in the dark (Isaiah 50:10) “Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.” As Habakkuk the prophet looks around at violence, contention, injustice and wickedness, it seems as though darkness is closing in and God is nowhere to be found. So will he trust God when he has no light? More importantly, will we? May the Lord anchor our faith in darkness when God’s timing and tolerance don’t seem to make sense.